Current Knowledge of Sheep and Goat Farmers about Viral Diseases of Small Ruminants in Some Parts of Iran

Viral diseases impose huge economic burden on livestock industry. In the current study,current knowledge of small ruminant farmers about viral diseases was assessed. In thisstudy, a pre-designed questionnaire was used to gather data from one-hundred and twofarmers during face-to-face interviews. Knowledge of farmers about four common viraldiseases of the region was assessed by open-ended questions. A protocol was designed toscore the knowledge of participants from zero to ten. Data were entered in MicrosoftExcel and analyzed by SPSS software. Results show that farmers have rudimentaryknowledge about viral diseases of sheep and goat. Participants had very limited andlimited knowledge about PPR, agalactia, and sheep and goat pox, whereas the majoritywere familiar with FMD. Authors believe that systematic extension programs need to beheld in the region to enhance the knowledge of farmers about viral diseases and preventdisease outbreaks.

Keywords:

small ruminants , PPR , agalactia , sheep and goat pox , FMD